George Thompson
Corporal George Thompson is part of the Royal Marine detachment currently serving aboard HMS Terpsichore. He is played by Sharpie. His PB is an unknown extra from Hornblower: Loyalty. Family Father: Unknown Mother: Bessie Thompson Half-sister: Annie Thompson (b. 1788) Early Life Thompson was born in Chatham in about 1783, the son of a prostitute and an unknown father. His home was a tavern and brothel catering to the soldiers and sailors who passed through the town. As a young boy, he used to wander down to the riverside to watch the ships passing up and down the Medway, wondering where they had come from or where they were going. His life as a street urchin meant that he learned to fend for himself from a young age. He acquired the ability to pick pockets, although it was not something that he found himself doing very often, and although he can still do it, he is reluctant to admit to having such a disreputable skill, especially in the close-knit community of the lower deck. More often, he was to be found loitering outside one or other of the several inns along the High Street frequented by Army and Navy officers, in the hope of earning a penny or two running errands or doing some small service for one of the officers. His childhood was tough, but generally happy, although he dreaded Saturdays when Punchy Wright used to visit the brothel, after drinking heavily. He came in one day to find Punchy threatening one of the younger children for not doing something, and stepped in to take the blame. The blow he took knocked him off his feet into the wall, but the other boy got away. He avoided Punchy after that, and dislikes drunken fights, a feeling exacerbated later when he was part of a squad of soldiers sent to break up a bar brawl and he got hit in the face by one of the fighters and had to be helped back to barracks afterwards. He will defend his friends though, even in situations like that, as he shows great loyalty to his friends and expects the same in return. Enlisting in the Marines Despite knowing the alleys and backstreets of Chatham intimately, by the age of fourteen he was finding it increasingly harder to avoid the pressgangs sent to press men and boys into the Navy. Fascinated by the uniforms of the marines, and the mystery of the ships, he eventually found himself outside the local marine barracks, where he took the King's Shilling, in 1797, shortly before mutiny broke out at the Nore anchorage. He found training to be absolute hell, as he ended up training for six months with a sadistic sergeant who preferred recruits to be scared stiff rather than thinking for themselves, and wielded his cane with deadly effect. Thompson still bears the scars on the backs of his thighs from his days in training. He also has a deep and lasting hatred of people who use their rank to bully those who are not so well off as themselves or who can't defend themselves. He eventually finished training after six months, and joined a small group of Marines aboard His Majesty's Sloop Vixen. It was here that he really learned what it was to be a Marine, under the tutelage of Corporal Davis, who encouraged and persuaded every new Marine aboard to go aloft to the fighting top at least three times, on the basis that it might only be volunteers who went up, but you never knew if you could volunteer till you tried it. Thompson found that he had a good head for heights and volunteered to be one of the sharpshooters, firing from the tops when in action. Service Life He has served both ashore and at sea. His first posting was the 12-gun sloop Vixen, where he served for eighteen months, from late 1797 till early 1799. He spent a short period standing guard at the Admiralty, before being posted to HMS Téméraire, a second-rate of 98 guns, when she was commissioned in June 1799, serving aboard her until the Peace of Amiens was signed in 1802. In October 1802, after''Téméraire returned from the West Indies, he was put on the list of Marines to be discharged, though his discharge didn't come through before war was declared again in 1803. He spent some months in Chatham and at the Nore, serving aboard the guardship ''Sandwich as part of the Marine detachment standing guard over the newly-pressed men. This was a duty he hated, and he was thankful to be sent to Calypso, 36, under the command of Captain Ramage. He served aboard her until he was transferred to HMS Surprise, 28, in late 1804, where he served until 1807, when he was posted back to Chatham before being transferred to HMS Terpsichore, 32. He has now served for twelve years, most of the time at sea. He has most recently spent three months back at the Chatham depot, of which he divided his time between standing guard in the Dockyard or on the Dockyard gate, and being posted as a sentry on the receiving ship, standing guard over the newly pressed men. When not on duty, he can usually be found in the Marines' part of the mess deck or (in fine weather) on deck with the other Marines. He is one of those Marines who have volunteered to go aloft if needed (unlike sailors, Marines do not have to go aloft if they don't wish to) and is proud of the fact that he can use the futtock shrouds like any sailor, even when hampered with a musket slung across his shoulders. He has recently been promoted Corporal, due to his experience, clean record and cool head in action"Promotions" http://showthecolours.forumakers.com/t1403-3-june-promotions#91357, a change in circumstances that he never expected but that he is getting used to. Life Aboard HMS Terpsichore Private Thompson came aboard as one of HMS Terpsichore's Marine detachment in late (November or December) 1808 when she was put into commission by Captain Bolitho. His duties were no different than aboard any other ship in the Royal Navy, and he got on well with the other members of the detachment. In May 1809, Terpsichore ''received a transfer from another ship, a young midshipman named Mathew de Guarde and from the first moment he stepped aboard, there was trouble. De Guarde accused a sailor of impertinence, bringing him before the Captain and had him flogged. That evening, the midshipman was one of the guests at the Captain's table for dinner, where he got drunk and threw up all over the First Lieutenant. During the night, two sailors carried de Guarde up on deck and threw him overboard. Thompson was on deck enjoying a pipe and saw the splash, alerting those on duty"In the Night on Terpsy" http://showthecolours.forumakers.com/old-nautical-threads-f17/in-the-night-on-terpsy-t230.htm. Fortunately one of the crewmen on duty was Billy Barrow, the captain's coxswain and one of the few sailors who could swim. He leapt overboard and kept de Guarde afloat until a boat could get to them. Thomas Crozier, the ship's surgeon, was able to revive the youngster, borrowing Thompson as a prop to support the lad. Things with de Guarde went from bad to worse and Lieutenant Bush eventually confined him to the midshipmen's berth during a storm, with Thompson standing sentry. The two got talking and Thompson was able to offer the lad a bit of comfort, finding that the reason he was acting like a bully was because of his previous captain who had insisted that the men could not be trusted."A Summons" http://showthecolours.forumakers.com/t315-a-summons"The Middies' Berth" http://showthecolours.forumakers.com/t317-the-middies-berth During this period, Terpsy fell in with a French frigate and captured her after a brief fight. Captain Bolitho sent for de Guarde, turning him before the mast to work as a common sailor. Thompson and some of the sailors began to teach him about what it meant to belong to a ship, rather than just being one of her complement, including getting the lad involved in preparing one of his dead messmates for burial at sea."After the Battle" http://showthecolours.forumakers.com/t370-after-the-battle In return for what Thompson had done to help him, de Guarde offered to take Thompson's dictation of a letter to be sent home, learning more about the Marine's background in the process."Writing Home" http://showthecolours.forumakers.com/old-nautical-threads-f17/writing-home-t405.htm Terpsichore arrived at Lisbon without further incident, and began taking on stores. Thompson was among the men detailed to take sacks of flour down to the breadroom when the lantern lighting the companionway guttered and went out, at the same time as the ship snubbed at the anchor. Thompson, who was in the middle of a step, lost his footing and fell to the bottom of the ladder, spraining his ankle. "After the Refit" http://showthecolours.forumakers.com/t381-after-the-refit Thompson was involved in the Battle of Oporto on the 22nd May 1809, as part of a Naval landing party whose purpose was to distract the French from the real attack on the town of Oporto by attacking a fort further downstream. It was partly due to his levelheadedness under fire, displayed during this action, and partly from his experience and length of service that Thompson was promoted to Corporal on the 3rd June 1809"Promotions" http://showthecolours.forumakers.com/t1403-3-june-promotions. Thompson's Squad *Nathan Allen *Charley Brice *Tom Combes *Bob Dickin *Jem Keene *David Lakey *Bill Mallory *'Birdy' Robinson *William Springfield *Terence Whyte *Jack Vining Appearance and Personality Thompson is 5'7" tall, which is on the tall side for a man of his background, leading to suspicions that had he not been malnourished as a child, he might have attained a height of nearer six feet. He is also quite thin, with a wiry sort of strength. He has dark brown hair that he keeps in a queue, although he is sure that sooner or later regulations will be changed, meaning that all Marines will wear their hair short, a change he is not looking forward to. He has blue eyes. He has scars on his back from a flogging received when he was sixteen, and thin white scars on the backs of his thighs from the Sergeant's cane during his training as a recruit. He also has a scar just above his left hip where he was hit by a French musket ball during his service aboard HMS Surprise. His red coat is starting to fade, but the chevrons on his right arm look fresh and new, testament to his recent promotion. He wears white trousers, black shoes and white gaiters, and the white-bound black round hat with a white-over-red plume and black cockade on the left. His face and hands are deeply tanned, and his arms less so, testament to the hours spent on deck in uniform and the fewer hours he can spend off-duty on deck with his sleeves rolled up, taking his ease or cleaning his kit. He has a fouled anchor tattooed on his right shoulder, with the Marines' motto Per Mare Per Terram (By Sea, By Land) below it. He is optimistic, always preferring to see the good in people if he can. He is patient, but can snap without warning when he is pushed too far, which he deals with by getting away from situations where he has to deal with people if possible as it is either that or hit someone. His childhood and training have taught him to bear pain uncomplainingly, and he will keep going even when wounded, almost until he drops. Even if ordered to desist, he will keep fighting despite his wounds if his friends or fellow Marines are in trouble. Habits, Skills and Pastimes He is superstitious rather than deeply religious, but will touch iron rather than wood for luck - or to ward off bad luck He smokes a clay pipe, rather than chewing tobacco as many of his shipmates do, a habit picked up as a child ashore. He is quite dextrous, and can still pick pockets, a skill learned as a street urchin that he keeps to himself. He always has a clean rag in his pocket, to wipe the barrel and lock of his musket with when coming off-duty from a post topside. More recently, this rag has been pressed into use as a handkerchief when talking to de Guarde, and then replaced from the rag-bag hung from the mainmast in the Marines' messdeck. He is a sharpshooter, as accurate as anyone else with a musket. Until recently, his station in battle was in the foretop, as he has a good head for heights and is able to use the futtock shrouds even with a musket slung across his back. Although intelligent, he was illiterate until recently - and is still functionally illiterate despite having reading lessons from de Guarde. He made his mark on his attestation form, and has only recently learned to write his name. He likes whittling in his free time, making copies in miniature of the figureheads of the ships he's served in. Relevant Quotes He's sitting at his mess-table looking as though he's been hit over the head with a belaying-pin. - ''Sergeant Quinn, referring to a just-promoted Corporal Thompson"Promotions" http://showthecolours.forumakers.com/t1403-3-june-promotions "Well, he might have a temper on him worse'n a shark with toothache, but he's a proper one of us, an' no mistake." ''- Private Thompson, on Corporal Johnson.'' "Y'saw me musket, earlier, di'n't you? An' you said you'd like t'see it again. It ain't duty that makes me look after her the way I do... it's pride. In meself, me ship. Y'can't belong in a place without havin' pride in it... and that's what we'm talkin' about. We'm Terpsies - we belong to Terpsy, an' she belongs to us. An' that comes fr'm more than just doin' your duty."'' ~ Thompson to de Guarde, on being a Terpsichore'' "Bit different, bein' the one t'sew 'em up, innit?" He gestured at Thompson, who'd just appeared to take over sewing up one of his own mates from another Marine. "Even the lobsterbacks do it." "Even us lobsters are Terpsies, Cob Chase," Thompson said quietly, looking up from his task. ''-Cob Chase and Thompson, on being Terpsichores'' "There's a difference 'tween bein' a member of the crew... an' bein' part of the crew. An' we want you to be part of us... 'stead o' standin' on the edges, an' watchin' like. We want you..." He sighed. "Hell, we might even want to be friends with you, if you'd give us the chance. An' ev'ryone needs friends." ''-Thompson, to de Guarde, on being a Terpsichore'' "Beats me why you don't ask a Tar t'do it. You'd fit right into our messdeck, with it all done that way I do it. Leastways, your head would. The rest of you looks too much like a Tar." ''- Thompson, on de Guarde's preference for having a queue done the Marines' way.'' Nice day? Skylarking? Fingers wrinkled his nose and almost asked when the Marine thought they'd get to start a skylark. That wasn't a question you asked a corporal though. Even if the corporal was Thompson, who used to be a good sort. There was no telling what he was really like now though. Now he was wearing stripes like Johnson. Even though Johnson couldn't be that bad, really, since he'd let Fingers borrow his jacket. "Are they heavy?" Fingers blurted out, only to immediately look stunned at letting such a nonsensical question escape into speech. "Them chevy-iron things, I means. Only... well is they?" They had to be, for why else would Thompson be holding his shoulders so square? '' Fingers, on the newly-promoted Corporal Thompson'' Referenced Threads Category:Royal Marines Category:Characters Category:Terpsichores Category:Other Ranks